Indicating and advertising device



Oct. 12,1926. 4 1,603,054

A. WILKINSON INDICATING AND ADVERTISING DEVICE Filed April 14, 1925 '2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Oct. 12 1926.

WILKINSON INDICATI-NG- AND ADVERTISING DEVICE Filed April 14, 1925 #Sheets-Sheet 2 r i atented Get; 12, 1925.. v

' \ertisements or, useful information:

TISIITG' c e s- 0. mass emma EN L N rnnr onrrns Ann Anynnmsrne Jan-vice.

' rApiilic'a'tioir filed April 14, 1925; Serial No. acne-tartan. England May 27,1924. 7

This invention relates to an improved indicating device suitable for displaying 'ad- The, invention is applicable tov an indifferent pairs of leaves can be brought into view.

The invention consists in providing an automatic advert1sement-or the like. device in which advertisements are displayed on a'plurality of. leaves which are adapted to be turned so as to bring different 'advertisemerits inview at predetermined intervals of time.

A further feature ofv the invention consists in the combination of an automatic advertising-or the likedevice in which different advertisements are automatically brought into. view at predetermined intervals, with a time indicating or time recording device. In this case the advertising device is preferably controlled by themove- 1 ment of the time indicating device.

.In any of the forms of the device automatic control mechanism for displayingthe 'advertisem'entsor r the like at predetermined times may be supplementedby another control mechanismwhich can be operated at will or on the performance o-f'the specific.

action such as the pressing of a button.

. An important feature of the invention 15 clock -moveinent 'to display information accurately at predetermined interval-s. 1

A preferred form of the invention will be described with reference to ing drawings, in :Which:

Figure 1" is a front'elevation of a corn bined clock and advertisement. displaying device.

Figure Q is a section on the line A B showing a few ofthe leaves advertisements. c v

Figure 3 isa plan view showing a few of theleaves and one form Of the stop and release mechanism,

carrying the the. :accompany a a idly attached to the plate and F but ad- Figure 4 shows st of the leaves. H

An. ordinary clock movement not shown is mounted in a woodenxbase 1 with the main spindle; 2 directed vertically. The usual friction engagement between the main spina broken elevation of two dle and the driving mechanism is vprovided.

()n this main spindle isn1oi1n ted a main. shaftB carrying a lower-plate: 4 and an upperplate 5.- and having on its upper :end a bevel gear wheel 6;. The bevel. gear wheel assre'non 'ro ivrurrrrnn Anvnn (ill on the finger spindle of a clock 8- In a device having the sameznu-mber of ,teeth in,

both bevel wheels the. main axle will thus rotate once every hour. The clock spindle is provided with the usualIfrictiongengagement toflenable the hands to be: moved, if desired, independently of them-ain; shaft. The plates mounted on the main. shaft each have, for example, twenty small orifices 9 equally spaced'round the periphery. The V advertisement; or 1 display devices consist of twenty rectangular leaves '10 of sheet metal.

or any other suitable material each of which hasa small projection 11 at the top and a projection 12- at the bottomcloseto thesame vertical,- edge. "These projections pass throughthe orifices '9. in. the upper and loiw-z er plates respectively and thusactsas pivots for 'the 'leaves; :The positions of the projections and orifices are so arranged that when two adjacent leavesware pressed back in'opposite directions they may appear as one continuous sheet. Any desired. design or wording may therefore, if desired, be inscribed on the adjacent facesv of adjoining leaves v Y Thelower projection on each leaf passes through the lower plate and rests on ahard steel surface 1 3 which forms a step bearing. The upper projection '11 passes through the upper plates "and on the upwardly projecting :portion {carries ,a'small spiral spring 14 rigjustably attached tothe upper end of the projection by the :collardlh; [The projections '11 are, as shownin- Fig. 4 alternately long and short so as to prevent the set screws 20' fro1n fouling eachother.

The advertisements are suitably illuminated by. one or more concealed lamps 20. The springs are adapted to turn the leaves in he direction f r t n o he main shaft. Thus if the shaft is rotating and a stop '16is placed in engagement with the outer edge of a leaf, this leaf and those behind it are pressed. back against the springs until finally the rotation presses the front leaf far enough'back to be released from the stop, then the actionof the spring causes it to fly across the space between itself and the leaf in front and expose a different surface. The action of the springs in conjunction with the rotating shaft is thus continuous and automatic.

The stop may be in the form of a train 17 of freely rotatable wheels or rollers 18, which may be arranged rectilinearly or curvilinearly and may have their axes staggered. Each roller then stops only one leaf at a time so that the leaves are prevented from rubbing against each other.

The leaves are printed with advertisements or the like on both faces and it is preferred that the adjacent faces of two adjoining leaves should form one complete design.

To facilitate exchange of leaves the two supporting plates may be mounted on: a

sleeve in frictional engagement with the main shaft. The frictional engagement in the time movement itself may then be dispensed with. In the modification shown in Fig. 1 all the leaves may be removed by lifting the clock from the top, removing the bevel wheel and withdrawing the" whole sleeve carrying with it the leaves and their su porting plates.

he leaves may conveniently be removed by unscrewing the collar 15 and bending the leaves so that the projections 9 are disengaged from the plates 4: and 5. To render the leaves accessible'a hinged glass cover 19 is provided.

The time movement may be continuous or intermittent as desired and may be operated 'many purposes, e. 'vertisements or for showing theatre proin the above described device having twenty by spring or electromagnetically or in any other manner as des1red. The independent ratchet and pawl mechanism for turning the leaves may be operated by hand or electromagnetically as desired.

It is clear that the device may be used for g. for displaying adgrammes or for displaying times. of coming events or departure of trains or the like. In conjunction with the time movement the leaves will be turned to display different information at regular intervals of time, e. g.

leaves mounted on a shaft rotating once per hour a leaf will turn every three minutes but clearly any desired number of leaves may be used. Where an independent. turning device is-also provided it is possible in addition to turn the leaves byhand or to cause one to turn on the ringing of a bell or the operation of any device connected to the independent turning mechanism.

I declare that what I claim is '1. A display device comprising a shaft, a 7

pair of plates on said shaft in spaced relation, a plurality of leaves situatedbetween said plates, a pair of stub pivots for each leaf, said pivots being journaled in said plates, one of said pivots projecting through spring surrounding each stub pivot on the opposite side of the plate to the leaf and anchored at its ends to.the stub pivot and to the plate respectively. 7

3. A display device'comprising a shaft, a pair of plates onsaid shaft in spaced relationship, a plurality of leaves situated between said plates, stub pivots supporting said leaves directly in said plates, torsion springs between said pivots and said plates,

' its respective plate and having a collar loose and a train of rollers engaging individually a plurality of the leaves to distribute the retaining pressure and avoid more than one leaf turning at any time.

l. A display device comprising a shaft, a pair of plates on said shaft in spaced relation, a plurality of stiflly flexible leaves situated between said plates, a pair of stub pivots on each leaf, the pivots being coaxial and the line of their axes removed from the adjacent edge of the sheet, whereby two of said .sheetsmay be arranged in a single plane with the surfaces flush and in alinement with each other, said stub pivots having means associated therewith to support said sheet between said plates for rotation about the axis of said pivots. V

In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name this 10th day of March 1925.

' ALFRED WILKINSON, 

